“Worship is an experience that transforms the heart”: Songs That Bring Me to Worship

Over the past few years, my reading habits oscillate from fiction and graphic novels to history to religion and beyond. Sometimes I have a plan for what I want to read next, and sometimes a book just falls into my hands, as if out of nowhere. The latter is what happened recently when I picked up Diana Butler Bass’ Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming Faith. I read Bass’ most recent book, Freeing Jesus, a couple of years ago, and I was perused our lending book closet at church, I came across her 2006 book Christianity for the Rest of Us. While it appeared almost two decades ago at this point, Bass’ insights about the dangers of Christian nationalism and how the church creates a fostering space for everyone to connect with the divine remain ever prescient.

As I read Bass’ signposts for renewal, I really started to think about what she writes about worship, reflection, and beauty. I grew up in Souther Baptist, in a denomination and church that put an emphasis on worship and, at times, spectacle. I think back to the massive Easter pageants we hosted depicting Jesus’ final week. Later, I attended churches that catered to the flavor of the week, churches that relied on market research and gimmicks to get people in the door. At these churches, I came into contact with…